Queens Park Rangers are on the brink of promotion to the Premier League with an almost unassailable 13 point chasm between themselves and third place.
 
However in a bitter twist of irony for boss Neil Warnock a legal cloud resulting from a third party player ownership dispute is threatening to undo a seasons hard work.
 
The irony being that Neil Warnock was at the helm at Sheffield United when the club claimed unsuccessfully that West Ham should have been deducted points for transfer irregularities in the Carlos Tevez transfer back in 2007.
 
A deduction of points for offences in this transfer, would have seen Sheffield United stay in the Premiership, the refusal of the FA to grant this demand is a major bone of contention for all those involved with the Yorkshire club and the seed of more than one law suit.
 
Yet now his current employers are under the guillotine for similar offences with a points penalty more likely if found guilty due to the toughening up of regulations following the Tevez saga and the legal proceedings that rumbled on for months.
Rangers are facing a total of seven FA charges around the dealings of the transfer of Alejandro Faurlin in 2009, third party ownership and the use of unlicensed agents.

The inner workings of the disputed transfer have not been published, the FA have been investigating this issue since September and are likely to have become entangled in what can be a complicated and confusing South American transfer market.

The FA is due to rule on this before the end of the season meaning that any punitive action could impact upon this seasons Championship promotion battle.

The allegations themselves are being refuted by Queens Park Rangers and must be the highly frustratingly for the management at Loftus Road, as activities last season could destroy a season of hard work and achievement.

Punishments from governing bodies should be designed on some level to punish and deter clubs from breaking established rules, however the main impetus behind such sanctions should be to level the playing field and I hope that the FA takes this into consideration should it find Rangers guilty.

Any action by the FA that affect this seasons table would be in the opinion of this fan wrong, the alleged infractions date back to last season and I see little merit in punishing a club nearly a full season after the offence. 

It may be that being so far ahead of their rivals means any penalty (assuming the club are found guilty) will have no effect on the club, but then it is unknown just how much of an example the FA would wish to make in this case.

It is likely that a 10 point deduction would not be enough to stop the QPR juggernaut from reaching the Premiership. Anything more than that could have a dramatic impact on the promotion race and an intrinsic £40m financial penalty should the club be punished to an extent that prevents promotion.

The FA have yet to rule but I am sure that all QPR fans will be hoping that Neil Warnock is not made to taste the bitter irony of the FA finally toughening up and showing its teeth to those found to flout transfer regulations.

I would expect this battle to rumble on and on, and another example of how politics and regulation can detract from the important thing in the game which despite what you may read is generally still the football.

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